Bruce Pearl letting Auburn players define their roles early in the year

It took a team effort for the Auburn basketball team to earn an 18-point victory in its season opener against George Mason. Three player scored in double figures and head coach Bruce Pearl emptied the bench with 10 players playing at least 13 minutes.

Pearl confirmed that he’ll continue to tinker with the Tigers’ lineups as the season gets going, but preached camaraderie as each players falls into their respective roles.

“These roles aren’t defined yet. There’s so much parity so much balance that I’m going to let them define their role,” Pearl said of his team Tuesday. “You saw Wendell [Green Jr.] take control the team pretty well, you saw KD [Johnson] be a factor at both ends of the floor explosively. Jaylin Williams was really solid. The big guys had their moments, so this is a team that’s going to need to evolve.

“We’ve just got to be good enough to beat the team we’re playing tonight, and we’ve got to get better -we are going to get a lot better.”

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Starting point guard Zep Jasper only ended up playing 17 minutes after shooting 1-of-7 from the floor. Instead, guards KD Johnson, Allen Flanigan and freshman Tre Donaldson came off the bench and filled in for their struggling teammate to help will the Tigers to victory.

Junior big man Dylan Cardwell and true freshman forward Yohan Traore came off the bench as well and provided some big-time rim protection, hauling in 13 combined rebounds while Cardwell posted five blocks.

Expect Auburn’s lineup and minutes distribution to fluctuate slightly when the Tigers take on South Florida this Friday as Pearl continues to get a feel of his personnel this season. Tip between the Tigers and Bulls is set for 8 p.m. ET live on ESPN+.